Monday, April 29, 2024

10 Ways to Save Water Around the House and Why It Matters

how to turn off water to house

Read on for more information about where and how to shut off your home's water supply. When a home’s water supply system leaks or a repair to one of the plumbing fixtures is needed, you’ll have to shut off the water. That way, the rest of the house will still have a functioning water supply. Water damage from frozen pipes, ruptured washer hoses, leaking supply lines and dripping water heaters costs billions every year.

Internal Leak Sensor

Kitchen sink stop valves, which allow you to shut off water to the faucet, often are hidden amid pipes and tubes under the sink. In colder regions the shutoff will be below the frost line, typically at the bottom of a tube covered with a cast-iron cover. You may need a key, a long-handle wrench, to be able to reach down to the valve and turn the water on and off. Keys are usually the same size and type throughout a neighborhood. Often your water utility department will loan you a key for your shutoff. An outside shutoff valve is near the point where a pipe branches off from the utility's main line to bring water to your home.

how to turn off water to house

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Often there is one main shutoff inside the house and another outside. Turning off the main water supply can save you money on your water bill. This is especially useful when going on vacation or leaving your home for an extended period of time. If you need to turn off the water supply to a specific fixture, such as a toilet or sink, look for the valve near the fixture.

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If the valve is difficult to move, use adjustable pliers to get a better grip, but work slowly and gently to avoid damaging it. If you can’t spot the valve after circling the home a couple of times, it may be in a utility box in the yard. You must be authorized by the local water utility to use this valve. Otherwise, you need to contact the utility directly to have them operate the valve. With a ball valve, turn the lever 90 degrees so it sits perpendicular to the water line. If you live in a warmer area, the shut off valve will be located on external wall, usually where the main water line enters the building.

Shutting Off the Water to a Fixture

If you remove them while you mow the yard, make sure to immediately reattach them. Turn on the faucet highest up and farthest away from the shut-off, as well as the one lowest in the system and closest to the shut-off, to allow as much water to drain out as possible. If your plumbing is all on one level, try the tub faucet and the outside faucet if the weather allows. At this point, you can work on any plumbing project that requires a water shutdown, or you can turn the water back on if you were testing the valve.

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Some Blue Island residents face water shut-off after learning property management hasn't paid bill since March - FOX 32 Chicago

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This is normally out by the street, often in a concrete box just below ground level. Another tip to avoid frozen plumbing is to turn the heat down to 60 degrees F when you leave, but not lower. You want to keep things warm enough inside the house so that water pipes running through exterior walls don’t freeze and burst. The shutoff to your refrigerator’s icemaker supply line might be located under the sink or in the basement. If your shutoff valve looks like the one here, a saddle valve, consider replacing it with a standard shutoff valve. Saddle valves are notoriously leaky and prone to clogging, and they’re also against building codes in a lot of places.

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There are many reasons you might need to shut off your home’s water supply. Sometimes it’s simply due to needing to make a plumbing repair where no adequate shut-off valves exist on the hardware you’re working on. The main water shut-off valve, also known as the building control valve, is typically located in one of several common areas. The home infrastructure can provide clues to the valve’s location.

What should I do after turning off the main shutoff valve?

This valve may be installed on the exterior of your home in the front or back or indoors in the basement, for example. Water can also be shut off by the municipality at the home's water meter, which could be on or off your property. But it helps to know where the main valve is located so you can turn off the water yourself.

Your refrigerator’s shut off valve will be located on the wall behind the refrigerator or underneath the kitchen sink. The refrigerator’s water supply hose should guide you to where the shut off valve is. To turn off water to a kitchen or bathroom sink, look for 2 (usually oval-shaped) valves on the wall under the sink with 2 flexible hoses connected to them. Turn them all the way clockwise to turn off the cold and hot water supply to the sink faucet.

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Turning off the water to the home is essential for many plumbing repairs and renovation tasks. Find out more about how to operate this valve with the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions below. Grip the handle of the valve firmly and apply pressure in the correct direction to turn the valve.

Today, Kristi is a full-time investing and real estate journalist working with notable publications such as Forbes, US News and World Report and The Motley Fool. What you can do in that case is remove the toilet tank lid and lift the toilet float (connected to the fill valve) all the way up. You can use a piece of wood to support the float in that position.

Once you’ve turned the main water supply off, you’ll want to release the pressure from the system. This is also a good way to ensure that you did actually shut the water off properly, and that the valves are working correctly. For a ball valve, turn the lever 90 degrees so it sits perpendicular to the water line. This rotates the ball inside the body of the valve, blocking the flow of water and shutting off the water to the house.

Once the water supply is turned off, open the drain valve to drain the remaining water from the pipes. Individual shutoff valves or “stops” are installed on the supply lines leading to most appliances as well as to toilets and faucets. Typical supply stops have a small round or oval handle that you turn clockwise to shut off the flow of water.

It’s likely attached to an exterior wall or in an accessible underground box. This is normally a cement box buried in the ground near your front curb. You may only need a long screwdriver to put into the “lock,” turn it counter-clockwise, and tilt the screwdriver towards the outer edge of the box to lift the lid.

In fact, many likely never got upgraded orr they did have a main shut-off located somewhere in the yard, but it’s been covered by grass and lost to time. However, emergencies aren’t the only time a homeowner might need to turn off the water. When an old valve needs to be replaced, a faucet leaks, or a toilet needs to be removed, the water must be turned off to avoid flooding the immediate vicinity. Use this guide to learn where to find the main shut-off valve and how to turn off the water in your house.

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